Veterans of the Portland, OR music
scene, Jay Castro and JP Ramos are essentially Big Sunset (though this record
is a collaboration with a lot of others, songwriting-wise).Jay explains how the project came to fruition
I had the pleasure of
recording, producing, and mixing an album for some good friends in a band called
The Contestants. In the process of recording the records I ended up
contributing some extra instrumentation and vocal harmonies. I found that
I really loved the way JP Ramos wrote and that our voices worked well together.
After the album was finished, I reached out to JP to see if he wanted to
write some songs together. For me, it was a chance to explore the pop
side of my musical tastes. Both JP and I are huge Jellyfish (and
associated acts) and XTC fans.Writing
together was a blast. We would each bring fairly finished songs to the
table and then take them home to write our own take on them. This process
distilled a product we felt was better than our solitary vision had brought to
the table. Initially, as we continued to hone the songs an idea came to
our minds to not play on our own album. If we broke out of that traditional
songwriting mentality, where would these songs lead? We both had a roster
of versatile friends who agreed to come to the table. Notably was Don
Schwarz, of Tales Untold on Tuba and Todd Bayles on pretty much everything.
I had the pleasure of working with both of these guys over the years and
they are both amazing.We did a few
rehearsals with JP and I reworking parts to better fit the instrumentation, eventually
we both caved and added our own performances back to the mix. Todd was such an
inspiration that we eventually asked him to just be a part of the project as a
whole.The result is a labor of love and
an exercise in setting lofty expectations for ourselves.I think I know
what's going on, but what always delights me more is discovering something that
I had no idea about. I heard the Big Sunset album and loved it. It is a great example of a pop rock album that
takes chances.None of the push button
instrumentation is present here. You
will hear accordion, tuba, double bass and ukulele in some pretty stunning
arrangements. Having said that, the
stand out song is the stripped down, The Night I Was Murdered, a brooding
hypnotic listen that just grips you.Five years in the making, this is a beautifully arranged affair. There
is so much going on, but the album's themes and song structures never lose
track of melody. Invisible Men comes in as a cross between Jellyfish and ELO,
but with Beach Boy harmonies and accordion. In all of these fine arrangements,
there is very little electricity, so the big sound is even more admirable.I can't recommend this album highly enough. It's a cracking listen. 
IDontHearASingle.comIt is indeed!GREAT!!

Fronted by
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